Sweden does not meet Russia in the World Cup qualifier either

Sweden became the second country (first after Poland) to officially refuse to play Russia on the pitch should the fate of World Cup qualifiers make them do so.

The country’s football association issued a statement speaking about it “madness” and “savagery” on the Russian side in Ukraine and stated that if she qualified for the final of her way to the playoffs with Russia, she would not go down to the stadium even if it is neutral instead of Moscow as currently planned.

He called on FIFA to cancel every game planned in Russia and stressed, among other things, that security would be increased.

The announcement

The Swedish Football Association has ruled that the Sweden men’s national team will not take part in a possible play-off against Russia, regardless of where the game is played.

“The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine is currently making all football negotiations with Russia impossible. Therefore, we call on FIFA to decide to cancel the March playoffs in which Russia is participating, March not fight Russia. It’s hard for us to believe that FIFA won’t listen to us. Russia cannot participate as long as this madness continues,” said Swedish President Carl Eric Nilsson.

According to the current plan, Russia will meet Poland on March 24 in Moscow. On the same day, Sweden meets the Czech Republic in the “Franz Arena”. If Russia wins, the winning team will meet in Moscow on March 29th.

Aside from the many moral reasons, one may wonder how there can be guarantees that the games in which Russia will take part are safe in the given situation – even if they are played on neutral ground.

Sweden’s Sports Minister Anders Igemann spoke earlier today about the situation after the Russian invasion: All Russian professionals should train in other countries.